Lower than 100meters

[DN308]

Hi all, I was wondering if it’s possible to make the AI flies under 100m in intruders missions?

it seems that not but what is the ingame’s limitations?

Edited July 3, 2021 by DN308

[Sketch]

I mean, technically you can set a waypoint to whatever altitude you want. The ai will attempt to fly to that waypoint, at that altitude, but will also try to be 'safe' too. 

 

 

Set the plane's Y Axis to desired height.

 

With the waypoint selected, in the basic properties set the Y axis to the desired height. The planes will attempt to fly to that height.

 

The complete setup

Edited July 3, 2021 by Sketch

[DN308]

Well, I already done that. 
However, the AI’s plane never went under that height

[Sketch]

3 hours ago, Sketch said:

but will also try to be 'safe' too. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[DN308]

Yep, I’ve noticed that. 
Thabks for your answer man

[AEthelraedUnraed]

Also note that 100m in the editor is 100m ASL. The terrain may in many maps be much higher than that.

[DN308]

In Low Countries, I’ve never had many issue with that lol

However it’s interesting and noticeable. Thanks to remind us about that important nuance. AGL and AMSL are quite différents.

Thanks to you both for your inputs.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

4 minutes ago, DN308 said:

In Low Countries, I’ve never had many issue with that lol

However it’s interesting and noticeable. Thanks to remind us about that important nuance. AGL and AMSL are quite différents.

Thanks to you both for your inputs.

Depending on the location on the Rheinland map, there's a good chance AGL is *more* than AMSL ?

 

One small nuance now that I think of it; IIRC the editor value is not actually AMSL but rather "Above Mean Ground Level" or something. IIRC each map has a certain offset that will be used, e.g. Moscow has an offset of 100m or so, meaning that a waypoint on the Moscow map at 2000m will actually be 2100m AMSL.

 

Also, (again IIRC) the altimeter is set to the altitude of the nearest airfield on mission start or something, so what your altimeter shows does not necessarily correspond to the altitude of the waypoint. 

 

[DN308]

Absolutely 

[Beebop]

Place an object (like an Artillery gun) on the ground at various points along the path.  Set those objects to ground using the "Set on Ground" tool, (green arrow pointing down under the word 'Select') to ensure they are at actual ground level and note the 'Y' level.  Add 100 to that number and the plane should fly 100 meters above the ground at that point.

For instance an artillery piece set on the Lapino airfield has a 'Y' value of 149.89.  Add 100 to that (249.89) and the A/C should fly over 100 meters off the ground. 

Note that by moving the object around on the map you will get different 'Y' values even though, for instance, the Lapino map "looks" fairly flat.  Some maps, like Kuban in the mountainous areas, could be real buggers.

 

Justathought.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Beebop

[jollyjack]

On 7/5/2021 at 7:48 PM, Beebop said:

 Some maps, like Kuban in the mountainous areas, could be real buggers.

 

Spent hours programming a low level J52 flight through the Kuban mountains. They kept crashing in to the hills as they seemed not to obey the waypoints that accurately ... Might have to do with fuel load and gaining height too?

Edited July 21, 2021 by jollyjack

[Beebop]

The AI "sense" the mountains and will try to avoid them at all costs. 

(it's the same sense that tells them you are out of ammo so they stop making tight turns).

AI don't start their turn until they reach the waypoint so they always go wide.

Look for the longest, widest valleys to fly through. 

Keep turns in tight places as shallow as possible. 

Use as few waypoints as possible.  The AI don't like to be micromanaged.

If appropriate, in tight places try setting the waypoint to 'High' to encourage them to just fly the course.

Go to their commander and promise him extra CPU cycles if they fly your flightplan. ?

Edited July 21, 2021 by Beebop

[Gambit21]

5 hours ago, jollyjack said:

 

Spent hours programming a low level J52 flight through the Kuban mountains. They kept crashing in to the hills as they seemed not to obey the waypoints that accurately ... Might have to do with fuel load and gaining height too?

 

They obey waypoints, you just have to take into account their reaction time and turn radius when placing the waypoint.

 

[IckyATLAS]

The lowest altitude your planes can fly in AI mode seems to be 168 meters on the Kuban Map Black Sea.

A value smaller will revert to the value mentioned above.

[DN308]

I was talking about Bodenplatte map.

 I tried to put 20m, 80m and even 100m and they still fly above. At least leaders fly at around 100m above the sea but wingmen stay at 120 more or less

[Beebop]

1 hour ago, DN308 said:

At least leaders fly at around 100m above the sea but wingmen stay at 120 more or less

Interesting as when flying with other planes, using the command Formation MCU or not, wingmen tend to fly a bit below the leader.

Gotta love those wacky AI pilots. 

[DN308]

Yep. What I observed is that if the leader is right on the, let’s say, minimal floor’s height, the height’s intervals tendency is reversed from below to above

Edited August 1, 2021 by DN308

[IckyATLAS]

18 hours ago, IckyATLAS said:

The lowest altitude your planes can fly in AI mode seems to be 168 meters on the Kuban Map Black Sea.

A value smaller will revert to the value mentioned above.

I should have specified this was for the JU88. They do not fly in formation so they stay all at their minimum height. In fact I have created a kind of  formation with each plane flying independently. It works because they all have identical loads and so speeds are identical too, and they are in a very loose formation so that when they are turns if you WP are well placed there is no issue.

[Beebop]

3 hours ago, IckyATLAS said:

In fact I have created a kind of  formation with each plane flying independently. It works because they all have identical loads and so speeds are identical too, and they are in a very loose formation so that when they are turns if you WP are well placed there is no issue.

Excellent idea!  Very much like ships.  They work better with separate WP's.  And you could get them to fly "in formation" with each plane at a slightly different altitude.  Also good for having Line Astern bomb runs.  That used to be an option IIRC in the Formation MCU.

Your idea is much better and easily worth the extra effort. 

Thanks for the insight.